The Yankees found themselves locked in yet another tight fight, this time against the Reds in a high-pressure extra-inning showdown. With the game on the line, feelings ran high—and one heated exchange transformed everything. Aaron Judge tried to act as a peacemaker, coming forward to calm a frustrated teammate after a controversial strike call. However, his efforts fell flat and tensions continued to build on the field.
It was a tie game in the ninth—3-3, one out, a star on first. Then came the pitch, which changed everything. A low 2-0 offering, borderline at best, was ruled a strike by umpire Mark Wegner. That is all it took for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to come unglued. Instead of going for the next pitch, the $5.85 million star turned away from the plate, convinced it should have been ball three. However, the moment did not pass. The infielder kept pacing and others in the stadium could feel the eruption coming.
Aaron Judge, sensing the issue, tried to get ahead of the storm. Between innings, the captain of the Yankees walked Chisholm back to the field, trying to cool the infielder down. However, the captain also could not put out that fire. Chisholm kept repeating, “It wasn’t even close,” loudly enough for the umpire and the broadcast crew to listen. By the time the bottom of the inning began, Mark Wegner had heard enough and Jazz was tossed.
That is when Michael Kay jumped in and said. “Jazz Chisholm just got thrown out and really, he has nobody to blame but himself,” The YES Network voice said live on air. Kay’s statement cut through the moment like a knife. That was not related to emotion—it was related to judgment and in Michael Kay’s thought, the second-year Yankee failed to show any. Key added that Wegner had shown plenty of patience and that Chisholm’s behavior had crossed the line long before the ejection came.
However, the cost was not just emotional—it was tactical. With Jazz out, DJ LeMahieu had to fill the gap and it forced a shift that moved Oswaldo Peraza to third. Such a shuffle came back to haunt the team of extras. Chisholm’s spot came up with the Yankees leading in the 11th and LeMahieu popped out. In the bottom half, the opponent team scored twice to walk it off. A meltdown in the ninth ended up wrecking the 11th.
Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankeesoutfielder Aaron Judge (99) walks during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Even Aaron Boone had to bite down hard on his thoughts after the game. “I don’t want him getting tossed there,” the manager said. “I want me to get tossed there in those situations.” That was not just a soundbite, it was a subtle, however, clear reminder: this team can not afford selfish mistakes anymore and if Aaron Judge and Boone could not stop the issue in real time, something deeper could be cracking inside the team.
If Chisholm’s ejection was the spark, then Aaron Judge’s honesty after the game was the smoke signal. The situation did not just expose a star’s meltdown, it highlighted the deeper frustration within the team spiraling through a brutal stretch.
Judge sends Wake-Up call as Yankees spiral deepens in AL East
After the Yankees’ crushing 4-3 loss in 11 innings to the Reds—one that featured late-inning chaos and yet another missed opportunity—Aaron Judge did not hide his thoughts. Instead, the team captain stood in and dropped a message as direct as it gets: “We got to play better. That’s it.” With the Yankees dropping nine of their last 12 and showing signs of internal issues, the star did not hold back.
What makes his message hit even harder is the timing. June has not just been rough, it has been historically embarrassing. The team is 10–12 for this month, with a six-game losing streak which featured three straight shutouts, something the Yankees had not gone through in over a century. The team’s once-comfortable division lead is now hanging by a thread, with the offense going ice cold and vital stars, like Chisholm, losing grip in big situations. When Aaron Judge says, “We’ve got to figure it out,” it is not just related to bouncing back. It is related to survival.
His tone marked a clear transformation from optimism to urgency. The captain made it clear that the Yankees have been here before, however, it is on the stars—not the coaches—to correct the course. “You guys asked us the same question last year… we’ve got to figure it out. It’s on us,” Judge said. That is leadership with an edge, the kind that comes when your team’s reputation is on the line.
This urgency is warranted. In a division as ruthless as the AL East, slumps do not wait for a team to fix them. The Yankees’ margin for error is shrinking quickly. Judge’s intervention at the period of the game could not have worked on Chisholm, however, the star’s message after the game was loud. It is time to grow up, lock in and clean up the mess before it defines the season.
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